If only we chased our goals like Pokémon

I am sure that you have all been bombarded by the people around you on the relentless quest to “catch them all.”

At first I thought OMG the world has gone mad……. Then I started wondering why one earth would anyone care (over the age of 12) about Japanese anime characters?

All these thoughts were rattling around in my brain while I was out on an early morning run in the dark while getting rained on. As I pushed myself to keep going on one of my least favourite hills…it hit me!

The answer is competition! As human beings we seem to be hard wired to enjoy competition. For some of us it is internal and we compete with ourselves only. However, it seems the vast majority of us really enjoy friendly rivalry. We delight in being part of a community chasing similar goals….at the present time it is the fun and somewhat silliness of Pokémon.

I am not against acting childlike and seeing the lighter side of things. But, as I pounded the pavement and got up that hill with my lungs burning I thought what is the lesson here?

As a health and nutrition coach I thought to myself how can this competition and fun be used to chase more health specific goals? I myself love a bit of friendly banter and competition but I am in no way inclined to start catching Pokemon.

Here are some ways to incorporate friendly competition that will get you achieving some of your health goals, while still having fun and building positive relationships.

Harness Snapchat with a group of friends. You can do this with a weekly/monthly prize for the most health promoting and original Snapchat……I love following (dianahhhhh) on Snapchat for some healthy inspo, she is always posting amazing little baking videos and her healthy adventures. Don’t forget to follow me too (poweredbyvegies) for my daily ramblings and food adventures. I have started doing this myself with a group of girlfriends. We all vote at the end of the week for the best healthy inspo on Snapchat. The person who receives the most votes by the group gets their brunch paid for next time we catch up. It has been loads of fun and so many laughs along the way.

Have a Masterchef inspired dinner party! Next time you get together with family or friends get everyone to create 1 dish. Create rules like: the dish must be a healthy creation that uses at least 3 different vegetables….get creative with the rules but keep the focus on health promoting foods. Have a jar set up in the middle of the table….each person receives a slip of paper and must vote for their favourite dish. The winner can receive a prize or a homemade trophy……It is silly but who doesn’t like to have a bit of harmless fun.

The Junk Food Jar! I have had loads of fun with the junk food jar at work. In your workplace create a junk food jar and ask people if they would like to tackle the challenge of no junk food at work. If they would like to participate give them an empty “junk food jar” and place it on their desk. If they are spotted eating a non-approved food item they are to put a dollar into the jar on their desk. At the end of the month the money is totalled and the individual with the least money in their jar wins a prize. We decided on movie tickets as it was a non-food reward that anyone could enjoy. The competition was lots of fun and the rules can be adapted to suit individuals and also the group as a whole.

If Pokemon is helping you to achieve your goals then keep striving to “catch them all” but if you know that it is not helping you to be your best try another form of healthy competition with your friends/followers or family members. Competition can be super inspiring if channeled in the right way.